Round 91 Transcript

I watch Silra take charge with a mixture of relief and frustration—she’s good at this shit, better than any of us. But her words are a cold splash of reality: we’re fucked if we don’t handle this right.

The soldiers start moving in formation toward us, hands near their weapons but not quite on them yet. Standard corporate intimidation tactics—show enough force to make compliance seem rational without actually escalating to violence… yet.

I swallow hard, trying to make myself as small and unobtrusive as possible between Silra and Halia. My eyes dart around wildly—at the soldiers with their hands hovering near weapons, at the twin figures that look like they could be carved from marble, at the new woman who radiates cold authority.

Fear coils tight in my gut but I force myself to take a shaky breath. Panicking won't help anyone right now.

Silra's right—we can't fight our way out of this situation, not with Abby and Halia in their current states. And trying to teleport us all to safety feels like it could make things worse.

But what do we do instead? Just let these corporate suits take us somewhere to be interrogated or experimented on?

I glance at Jeane, hoping for some kind of magic solution, but she just looks annoyed and restless, her wings shifting as if itching for a fight.

Ms. Stone is huddled in the corner now, looking like she might pass out. The enhanced woman hovers near our new leader, ready to snap into action at a word.

My mind races through possibilities and discards them almost immediately. We're so far out of our depth here it's not even funny.

All I can think to do is try to look harmless and cooperative while Silra works whatever angle she has in mind. Maybe if we play along for now, we'll get a chance to make a real escape later?

I inch closer to Halia, seeking some kind of reassurance or guidance from my sister in this chaos. But she's staring at the ground with her arms crossed tight over her chest, lost in whatever prayer or meditation is helping her stay grounded.

So I just stand there, teeth gritted and hands clenched into fists at my sides, trying not to tremble as our fate seems to hang on Silra's next words.

I press myself back against the cold concrete wall, my heart hammering so hard I can feel it in my throat. The sight of so many armed soldiers and these terrifying new figures has completely paralyzed me with fear. All I want to do is disappear into the floor.
*Abby (E, Civilian)

• Current emotion: absolute terror
• Physical state: pressed against wall, trembling, knees weak
• Thoughts: They're going to kill us or worse! This was such a bad idea!
• Intentions: hide, avoid notice, escape if possible
• Next action (if successful): try to slip away unnoticed in the chaos
  I watch Silra step forward with what looks like confidence, but I can see the tension in her shoulders. She's scared too, she just hides it better than me. Jeane seems more annoyed than anything—she doesn’t get how much danger we're in.
  Halia is still on her knees praying, completely tuned out to everything happening around us. Ms. Stone looks like a deer caught in headlights. And Hera... she looks determined but terrified too. We're all going to be captured or dead soon if Silra can't talk our way out of this!
  The enhanced woman’s eyes scan over each one of us, lingering on me for a beat that feels like an eternity. I feel utterly exposed under her cold gaze. She knows everything we did and why we were here. We didn’t even get to finish the mission.
  I take a shaky breath, trying to calm my racing thoughts. Think Abby, think! What can you do?
  The soldiers are getting closer now, their boots echoing loudly off the concrete floor. I flinch with every step they take. This is it—this is how it ends for us. All that work, all those risks... for nothing.
  My hands fist in the hem of my oversized shirt, clinging to its fabric like a lifeline. I can’t just stand here and let them take me!
  The twins are still standing there, so still they look fake. Are they waiting to see what we do? Are they going to report everything that happened back to their boss? The thought sends another jolt of cold dread through my veins.
  Silra is saying something now, her voice low and calm even though I can see the strain in her face. She's trying to talk us out of this. She thinks she can negotiate our way free. But there’s nothing to negotiate—we’re caught red-handed and these people aren’t going to let us walk away.
  My eyes dart around frantically, looking for any escape route, any weakness in their formation. There has to be something... some way out of this nightmare!

I step forward slowly, hands raised slightly but non-threateningly, angling myself between our 'guests' and the twins. This situation is teetering on the edge of very bad to catastrophic, and we need to inject some fucking sanity into it before things spiral completely out of control.

"Ms. Stone was simply showing us around her facility as part of a recruitment drive," I begin, voice measured and professional despite the cold sweat prickling along my spine. I'm not addressing the actual leader—she's too far up the food chain to give a single fuck about our bullshit story, and acknowledging her directly would imply we're even worth her time. Instead, I focus on the more immediate threat: the enhanced bitch and her soldiers.*

"Clearly there's been some kind of... misunderstanding," I continue, letting just enough uncertainty creep into my tone to suggest we're clueless pawns in someone else's game. The twins haven't moved a fucking muscle since these corporate overlords showed up—what are they playing at? Reporting back to their mysterious benefactor? Documenting our failure for posterity?

"Enhanced bitch." Nice. Very professional.

Jeane’s wings shift irritably as she suppresses the urge to teleport everyone out of this fucking mess—starting with Silra and ending with a significant distance between us and these corporate vultures. The twins’ unnerving stillness is more unsettling than anything Ms. Stone could manage, and their presence suggests we’re being watched by someone far less... tangible.

Fine. If playing along is the strategy, I can play along… for now. But my patience is thin, and every second Halia remains naked and terrified in front of these asshats grinds it thinner.